Commonly known in the art are heat exchangers used in connection with an automotive vehicle for cooling the engine of the vehicle. The heat exchanger generally comprises a pair of manifolds providing fluid reservoirs and a plurality of fluid tubes extending between the manifolds in fluid communication therewith. Liquid coolant may pass through the manifolds in a liquid to air heat exchanger while air is passed external and between the tubes for cooling the fluid contained therein. In air to air heat exchangers, air is passed within the tubes and air is passed externally thereover for heat exchange.
The components of the heat exchanger are generally welded or soldered together. The core, comprising the tubes, fins and side support members receives ambient cooling air passing through and around the cooling fins and is disbursed about the fluid tube, thereby allowing the fluid to release the majority of its thermal energy. The high temperature air flow causes thermal expansion of the tubes. It is desirable to minimize the restriction of thermal expansion when mounting a heat exchanger.
In typical vehicle cooling systems, the charged air cooler is generally mounted onto the radiator at the manifolds. The radiator is in turn, mounted onto the chassis of the vehicle. Because the tanks are the stronger part of the heat exchanger, the installation can take the load due to the vehicular vibration.
In come cases, the cooler is mounted on the radiator on its side by the structural side supports. A pair of mounting tabs or brackets extend from each side support and are directly connected to the vehicle. Since the side supports are relatively weak, the bottom side support has to be specifically designed in order to sustain the required loading.
Another type of mounting bracket is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,953, issued Sep. 5, 1989 in the name of Garnetzke et al. The patent discloses a heat exchanger including fluid tubes, fins spaced between the tubes, and upper and lower mounting flanges. A support brace extends perpendicularly with respect to the fluid tubes and is connected to both the upper and lower mounting flanges or side supports.
A problem still exists due to the weakness of the side supports and the inability to provide the necessary support for mounting the charged air cooler.